A Present for Emily
by PagetPaulson
Summary: He couldn't wait for Christmas day.


His tongue sticking out as his small brow furrowed in determination, the four year old stood on his toes and reached for the silver doorknob above his head. "Daddy!" he whispered, the young boy who was short for his age tried his best to stretch his arm above him. "Help daddy!"

When he stumbled back, Jack let out a dramatic little huff. He had to get into his daddy's bedroom if they were going to open presents.

The four year old stepped back up to the door and jumped, his hand finally reaching the doorknob he had been trying to get to for almost five whole minutes. His hand slipped on the slick object and it immediately cracked open, letting Jack scurry through the open doorway and toward the king sized bed. "Emmy?"

On the left side of the bed lay the brunette FBI agent who had been at their house more frequently for the past few months, her eyes shut tight.

"Emmy?" Jack whispered. He moved his small hands from his mouth and poked at the light skin almost glowing in the moonlight. "Are you awake?"

The thirty-three year old's brow wrinkled before she rolled over.

Jack frowned before rushing over to the other side of the bed. Grabbing onto the edge of the comforter that hung off the bed's edge, the sandy haired boy scaled the side of the bed and climbed up the blanket. "Emmy," he giggled, crawling over his father's empty spot to sit before the brunette on the bed, "that was so fun!"

He quickly got himself under the covers before his big brown eyes looked up to the FBI agent beside him. "Emily?" he whispered, his hand coming up from underneath the comforter to poke at Emily's long nose. "Can you hear me?"

"Is there a Christmas elf in my bed?"

Jack giggled at the words as Emily's eyes finally opened. "I'm sorry," he whispered loudly. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

The FBI agent hid her grimace at the crick in her neck. "Yeah right," she scoffed, taking one of her hands from under the blanket to pinch Jack's nose. "Why aren't you in your bed, buddy?"

"It's Christmas!"

Emily felt her face immediately fall. She felt as if she had just gone to bed. How could it already be morning?

Rolling over to take a look at the clock, Emily groaned. "Baby, it's only three in the morning," she said sadly, turning back to face the little boy. "It's not quite Christmas yet."

"When is it Christmas?"

The agent groaned, putting her arm around the four year old's small body and letting him cuddle into her. "In a few hours. How about we sleep until then, ok?"

Jack giggled and sloppily kissed Emily's cheek.

"Come on baby, let's go back to bed."

"And then we can open presents?"

Emily kept her eyes shut tight as she smiled into the boy's light hair. "And then we can open presents."

 _3:42 am_

"Emmy?"

The agent almost winced at the sound, barely having fallen asleep before the voice of the four year old invaded her ears. "Jack," she whispered back, "go to sleep."

"Emmy, where's daddy?"

Emily rolled her eyes behind her lids before letting them open. "Daddy's coming back home today, remember?" She brought the young boy closer and pressed a long kiss to the top of his head. "Daddy was at work."

Jack laid his hand to the agent's cheek. "Why are you not with daddy at work?"

"'Cause I got to stay here and watch you, silly boy." Emily blew a raspberry against Jack's cheek and smiled as he laughed into her neck. "Now let's go back to bed, ok?"

 _4:14 am_

Jack's fist curled tighter into the sleep shirt Emily wore as his tiny eyes popped open. "Emmy?" He moved his head up the pillow he lay on to look at the older woman. "Emmy?" he whispered louder, taking his hand from her shirt and tapping at her chest.

"Sleep, Jack."

The four year old frowned. "How can you talk with your eyes closed?" he whispered. "Are you sleep talking?"

"Yes," was Emily's automatic reply. "Sleep."

 _5:00 am_

The agent let out a huff as she rolled away from the sleeping four year old and glanced at the clock with tired eyes. Why couldn't she fall asleep?

She turned her head to look back at the beautiful boy drooling on the pillow she had claimed as hers, and she couldn't fight the smile on her face. She was lucky. It had taken her years to find someone she thought she could spend her life with, and luckily that man had come with a beautiful son who immediately made her feel at home.

They were her family.

Rolling back over to the four year old in her bed, Emily kissed his cheek, letting him snuggle up against her. "Goodnight baby," the agent whispered, letting her eyes shut and do their best to will her to sleep.

 _5:57 am_

"And then the dinosaur came and tried to bite me and take daddy but daddy saved me and you and Aunt JJ got away and got Henry and we all went to have food."

Emily's eyes widened at the description of the four year old's dream. "All that happened?"

Jack excitedly nodded his head, looking down to the woman who still lay in the bed. "Let's go play!"

"We can't play yet," the brunette denied, pointing behind her to the window. "It's still dark out. What do we do when it's dark?"

The sandy haired boy thought. "Sleep?"

Emily grinned. "Exactly," she laughed tiredly. Beckoning him back to her with a wave of the hand, the FBI agent kept her arm open so the young boy could scurry back to lay beside her. "Maybe we can even play in the snow when we wake up."

"Now!"

"No," she said sternly, her eyes on the young boy's. "After presents."

Huffing, Jack burrowed his head into Emily's neck. "Ok."

 _7:34 am_

Walking through the already open doorway, Hotch's eyes went to the bed he shared with his girlfriend of seven months. He set his briefcase down on the window seat and watched as his son peeked his head up from underneath the comforter on his bed. "Is there a Christmas elf in my bed?" the Unit Chief asked with a smile, rounding the bed to let his son jump into his arms.

"Daddy!"

Emily's eyes slowly peeled themselves open, the comforter sliding from over her head so she could see her boys. "Look who's home."

Leaning in, Hotch pressed a kiss to his girlfriend's lips. "You look tired."

"Our Christmas elf is a hyper one."

Hiking his laughing son up on his hip, the brunette man flashed his girlfriend his dimples and slipped off his shoes. "How about Jack and I go and get breakfast ready while you get some sleep?"

Emily's smile was hidden by her blanket as she buried her head back into her pillow. "Best Christmas present ever," she whispered, falling right back to sleep.


End file.
